Fanatics of the Magic Academy

Chapter 97 Unreasonable Maintenance

Rose reactivated her senses and continued to observe the seven people as they communicated.

Although the "Ella" made Rose unable to hold back at all, and in the voice Rose perceived, Ella's voice was that of an obviously elderly man.

That taut thing, coupled with its rough voice, made it hard for Rose to ignore; his attention was almost always on that thing.

Anyone would want to take a second look, right?

Meanwhile, the conversation and transactions among the seven people inside the room continued.

Their exchange was quick and concise, without excessive small talk. Before long, one of the magicians finished the transaction and got up to leave.

Occasionally, someone inside would suddenly stop what they were doing, sit there motionless like a statue for a long time, then make a gesture of understanding towards the air, and then get up and leave the house.

Rose guessed that he was probably communicating with the person observing outside using perception magic.

Then, several more magicians entered the house.

Rose wondered if the slum's workforce and the number of corpses could really support so many magicians.

Soon, Rose figured out the reason through observation and thought.

Because not all mages possess [flesh manipulation] magic, and not all mages have a need for corpses and labor.

Because most of them want to return to a normal magical society and escape the killing line.

Each of them has their own different methods.

Some people, like the magician behind Hope, need to conduct brutal human experiments to obtain shocking results.

Some are like magicians behind gangsters, with remarkable skills, extracting marrow from homeless people and conducting human experiments, and even bribing the "Management Bureau".

According to Rose's observation, most people come seeking "sane maintenance agents".

Use this thing to maintain your sanity from declining further, in order to gain a slim chance to return to the magical world.

There are also those who focus purely on theory, researching entirely new magic. These only require guaranteed funding and that their own sanity doesn't drop to the point where they can't even cast the spell.

Some people just live one day at a time, trying to maintain their rationality for as long as possible.

In fact, the two magicians that Rose encountered were extremely rare in this group.

They have the means and the courage to take action, and their goals are very clear.

As Rose observed, several other curious creatures also entered the room.

There are those who have grown extra arms, but those arms have started to atrophy for some reason and are hanging down.

There are also those whose faces may have undergone drastic surgeries and modifications in their youth. Now, without the corresponding medicine to stabilize their bodies, their faces have become so bizarre that they've become a form of mental attack. Moreover, the fact that they haven't applied any reverse blurring magic to their faces, but simply wrapped a cloth around their faces to protect against honest people but not malicious ones, shows that their rationality has plummeted to its lowest point. They can only use the cloth on their faces as a last fig leaf. Given their current state of rationality, this might even be the last gathering they attend.

There was no gathering of magicians like Rose had imagined, where the magicians were all knowledgeable, elegant, and the gathering had a clear set of rules.

On the contrary, Rose observed that a significant portion of those who came were merely seeking a slim chance of survival, and only a small number of rational mages were qualified to "trade".

Moreover, it wasn't very orderly or elegant. In this room with its rather exquisite interior, most of the magicians were just trying their best to maintain their last shred of dignity at the gathering.

Magicians came and went in the house like in a market, without any rules or regulations.

To be honest, even with Rose's current level of rationality and mediocre magical skills, he is already among the top in this group of mages.

As the afternoon approached, Rose replenished her food and moved away from the area, finding a secluded alley where she had once initiated a "shallow ancient dragon meditation" to refresh her focus.

Then the observations continued.

Rose noticed that, perhaps by convention, by the afternoon, there were fewer and fewer magicians who were clearly in a low state of mind and had come seeking a glimmer of hope, and more and more magicians who were communicating remotely with people outside the house and who were clearly prepared to barter.

Rose knew that the real party was about to begin.

Keaton and "Ella" had been sitting in the room the whole time, and it was clear that they were the organizers of the party.

Rose also witnessed that during this period, the two of them occasionally made deals with others.

These magician transactions were more diverse than those of the previous magicians with low rationality. In addition to potions and materials, they also traded data, intelligence, some magical machines that Rose couldn't quite understand, and Rose even observed some documents being traded.

Rose fell into thought. He and Tiana were both unregistered residents in the Magic Federation. If they wanted to go to school, they would probably only be able to attend some private schools that would accept anyone who paid money.

These mages who survived the massacre but still maintained a certain level of composure all had jobs, and some of them might even still have connections from before. Rose might be able to use this gathering to resolve his identity issue.

Rose began to record their trading process and patterns, as well as some people with special trading items and methods. Rose focused on memorizing their physiques and clothing.

Just then, a mage who had just finished a transaction and obtained what he wanted turned to Keaton before leaving and said, "Hey, Keaton, what was that magical attack in the South District a few days ago that was at the level of a mid-second ring?"

'

Rose's eyes narrowed; this was clearly referring to herself.

Keaton put on an exaggerated expression that only his face could pull off, and said, "It's nothing, Grant, it was just a little commotion caused by a new friend."

Even though Rose couldn't see the face of the questioning mage called Grant, she could still clearly sense his skepticism from his body language. He asked with a hint of doubt, "A new friend? Are you referring to a mage who recklessly launches second-circle attacks? Does he even respect the 'Management Bureau'?"

Most of us would find it difficult to launch a strike of that magnitude these days, and from what you're saying, you've already absorbed him into your group?

Keaton waved his hand, his body swaying dramatically in response, and said, "Hey, Grant, don't be so nervous. I've already tested him; he's quite rational and has a clear desire to communicate."

Grant retorted, "Desire to communicate? Don't fucking think I'm stupid. Do you think I don't know that?"

Morrison's gang was blown to bits, and a week later, Morrison himself disappeared without a trace; he didn't even attend the party!

What's wrong? Did he eat something bad? Or are you going to condone this kind of mutual attack and plunder?

Have you forgotten the losses we suffered after Marcus went insane just days after we took him in?!

Rose knew that the Morrison he was talking about was the magician behind the gang, and Rose had blown him to death with a lightning gun shot to the head.

The remaining magicians on the field, after hearing Grant's question, turned their gaze to Keaton, wanting to see how Keaton would respond.

Keaton's expression turned serious for the first time: "Grant, the reason we started this gathering is to help each other and find a way to return to wizarding society."

Mutual plunder and attack are intolerable to us. I observed and spoke with that magician; his sanity is absolutely sound, and he will not disrupt the gathering.

As for Morrison's matter...

'

Keaton shrugged. "I'm more inclined to think it's a personal grudge."

Rose noticed Grant's obvious smirk and said, "Personal grudge? You're something else, Keaton."

In fact, Rose also felt doubtful and wary, because Keaton seemed to be too protective of him.

Put yourself in Keaton's shoes. If Rose were Keaton, and Rose organized such a gathering, even if he learned that a madman was recklessly throwing incredibly powerful attacks in the slums, driving away one of the two sorcerers who lived in the area and killing the other, Rose wouldn't invite him into the gathering, even if he found the man to be very logical and eager to communicate.

People who behave erratically but speak logically are often more difficult to control and predict than those who are generally erratic, and can cause greater damage.

However, Keaton's behavior showed a considerable degree of friendliness towards Rose, even to the point of protecting her.

This doesn't make sense.

Could it be because he's interested in Rose's fictitious "flesh manipulation" technology?

No, that's not right. Rose believes that this doesn't make sense, because someone who can organize such a large-scale gathering wouldn't defend someone so irresponsibly just because they share the same hobby.

If Keaton were truly such a person, it would be impossible for so many wizards to trust him and be willing to trade and gather under his organization.

There must be something very important that Rose has overlooked, something that could dispel Keaton's doubts about Rose.

Rose frowned. What had he overlooked?

It wasn't just Rose who had this question; the magicians present also began to whisper among themselves, casting their gazes at Keaton with inquiry and suspicion, hoping to get an explanation from him.